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The Queenie and Herc story is a romantic comedy set in a small Southern California town over a three-month period of the muscle-car era, in early 1966. It is a time when many doors were shut to young girls who wanted to play sports or pursue careers that were still presumed to be 'for boys only' -- a perfect time for male chauvinism. It was a time before civil rights laws and enforcement made it difficult for bigots to act on their preconceived notions. And of course, there is no special time period that excludes intellectual dishonesty or a bloated sense of self-importance.
Ben and Ester Hosnair run an exclusive apartment building. Snooty and bigoted, they view all those, except a select few, to be beneath them, running the Dark Vue apartment complex like a prisoner of war camp with very strict enforcement of the rules. Ben is a dim-witted, runty, middle-aged guy with an air of superiority, who incessantly brags about his new ‘66 Cadillac to anyone who will listen. Ester is a large woman with a pompous demeanor, clothing, hairstyle, and an English accent that all reminds one of a wider Queen Elizabeth II.
Ester is also pretty much in control of the local high school as Vice Principal since Principal A. Thadeus Dull is just hanging on until his retirement. The school is her domain, and the dress code and curriculum reflect her extreme requirements for modesty and her belief that “a woman’s place is in the home.” She is aided in her enforcement of these rules by male-chauvinist pig, Barry Glossy.
Ben has a younger brother who is both a big shot at the local Space Lab and a professor at the nearby university. A devious and dishonest character, Dr. Harry A. Hosnair is infamous for stealing the work of others and then putting his own name on it. Those who lose their work often lose their jobs too. His position at the university means that he can make or break a student’s application for enrollment at the university, and hence he wields a lot of clout in the town of Hooters.
Ester, Ben and his brother, along with those who cozy up to, or knuckle under them, constitute a hilarious collection of “bad guys” who deserve some major comeuppance!.
Two recent college graduates and their numerous high-school friends are on the opposing side of the conflicts as they develop. The first is EJ Fidd (pronounced as ‘EE-Jay’), who naively moves into the apartments run by the exceedingly nice Ester and Ben. He is initially accepted with open arms, primarily because he also works at the famous Space Lab.
However, the friendly atmosphere quickly wears off and turns into antagonism as Ben and Ester’s bigotry surfaces in attacks on EJ’s Asian-Indian, Latino and black friends, as well as two high-school seniors in the apartment building, Robert and his love interest, the vivacious Strawberry.
EJ also makes the mistake of showing up with a specially modified new car that makes Ben’s prestigious Cadillac look like yesterday’s trash in comparison. This doesn’t go over well with the better-than-thou Hosnairs. And as antagonisms escalate, Ben’s brother is busy plotting to steal EJ’s work at the Space Lab.
In the meantime, a new teacher named Juliette Jones arrives at the high school. She is a knockout, an athlete, wears sexy clothing, and believes very strongly that everyone, particularly the left-out young girls at the high school, should be given equal opportunity to pursue any sport or career. This of course, all runs counter to Ester’s severe dress code and her 19th Century definition of a woman’s place, and hence what should constitute a proper girl’s education. As Juliette tries to bring opportunity to the girls at the school, Ester seeks to sabotage her efforts.
It isn’t long before Juliette is surrounded by new friends at the high school, including Robert and Strawberry, who have also become fast friends with EJ back at the oppressive apartment building. Bringing EJ and Juliette together for the first time, they all join forces to battle the problems at the school, the apartments, and the local Space Lab. The romance that ensues becomes intense, reaching fulfillment at an emotion-filled Lake Arrowhead party.
The battle with Ben and Ester at the apartments starts out with a number of simple but comical pranks. Ben and Ester counter with their own dastardly deeds and eventually the escalation of events reaches a point where “war is declared.” At that point, EJ and friends give their antagonists the appropriate nick names Queenie and Herc (as in ‘Hercules’). From then, the pranks and gags that are planned and executed by EJ and his troops get more elaborate and naughty, and are no longer limited to the apartment building. They carefully play on the Hosnairs’ modesty, bigotry and pompous attitudes to achieve maximum embarrassment for the 'royal couple' and their supporters.
This all leads up to a finale in which the local Lodge is to honor Ester, Ben, and his brother, for their lifetime contributions to the town and school. EJ’s team pulls out all stops in planning and executing a sequence of hilarious disasters for this pompous affair…and….

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